Hi I’m Antony Stratton, the latest addition to the technical team here at Promain. I joined the technical team back in August. On my first day I felt welcomed and was impressed with the honesty and integrity of the company. I found that the emphasis was not on selling products but rather to provide excellent technical advice. Promain aim to ensure we specify and supply the best product or system for the intended application.
Week 1
My first week began with an introduction to my new colleagues. All of them went out of their way to make me feel welcome and keep me supplied with lots of coffee throughout the day (which is always a plus with myself)! Later I had a tour of the office and warehouse. I was staggered by the vast range of products on offer and all of the specialist applications each can provide. My first reaction was to think ’how will I build my knowledge of all these products?’ but my colleagues in the technical team, Ben & Tony, reassured me they will support me and all the training I would need was already being arranged. I love the fact that Promain is committed to the continuous professional development of its employees.
Week 2
On my second week my training began. A representative from Zinsser came to meet with myself and I spent that morning finding out about the Zinsser range of products and their individual applications, learning about everything from Zinsser B-I-N Shellac Stain Killer to Zinsser Perma-White Interior. After completing my training I felt more confident and eager to improve upon my knowledge of products. I spent the rest of the week with my technical colleagues Ben & Tony, who ran me through our core products and answered all of the technical questions I had.
Week 3
My third week was spent helping out in the warehouse, learning about the logistics side of the company. I got to see first-hand the effort the staff put in to ensure all the orders were fulfilled. I also noted the care that was taken when packaging orders, to ensure the product arrive undamaged. In addition I also had the opportunity to learn how paints were tinted. I got the chance to go through the whole process from seeing how the requested colour was formulated to the quality assurance process that was undertaken to ensure the end product was produced correctly. This time invaluable as I got to learn even more about the products stocked at Promain. I also got to add to my skills with my learning of how to tint and then quality assure the various paints stocked at Promain.
Week 4
I spent my fourth week at Promain shadowing my technical colleagues Ben & Tony listening in on their phone calls and conversations. This gave me a great insight into the consultative approach taken here at Promain to ensure the correct advice is given and product specified. The great part was realising that Promain strive to provide the very best product or system for the intended application. Ben & Tony would also take the time after their phone consultations to run through why a certain product was specified and the type of information we need to ascertain. By the end of the week, my knowledge base had grown even further. I felt up to speed on floor coatings such as Rustoleum Pegakote Floor Paint and also the roofing systems on offer, such as Rustoleum Dacfill Roof Paint and 3M Scotchkote UV 662.
Week 5
By week 5 at Promain, I felt confident enough to start to receive my first technical enquiries. I began by attempting to answer technical questions we had received via email. My colleagues guided me through the whole process. This gave me a great insight into how much time and effort is invested into each enquiry, to ensure the correct system or product is specified. I then began to take my first enquires via phone. My colleagues again supported me by ensuring I was asking the correct consultative questions to guide the client to correct product. By the end of the week I felt more confident and had also grown my knowledge base even further. The best part of this week was Friday when our MD brought in a selection of cakes for the staff. At present I am continuing to add to my knowledge base, learning about Promains ever expanding range of products.
If you should require any technical advice do not hesitate to get in contact with the Promain Technical Team on 01462 421 333 who will be happy to assist.
